2010 = 1894?

[KarlMarx]

I've heard that this year's elections may less like the 1994 midterm election than the 1894 midterm election.


The U.S. House election, 1894 was a realigning election—a major Republican landslide that set the stage for the decisive Election of 1896 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Election_of_1896). The elections of members of the United States House of Representatives (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_House_of_Representatives) in 1894 came in the middle of President (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_the_United_States) Grover Cleveland (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grover_Cleveland)'s second term. The nation was in its deepest economic depression ever following the Panic of 1893 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panic_of_1893), so economic issues were at the forefront. ....

The fragmented and disoriented Democratic Party (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_United_States_Democratic_Party) was crushed everywhere outside the South, losing more than half its seats to the Republican Party (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_United_States_Republican_Party). Even in the South, the Democrats lost seats to Republican-Populist electoral fusion (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electoral_fusion) in Alabama, Texas, Tennessee, and North Carolina.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-0">[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_House_of_Representatives_elections,_ 1894#cite_note-0)</sup><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-1">[2] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_House_of_Representatives_elections,_ 1894#cite_note-1)</sup> The Democrats lost 125 seats in the election while the Republicans gained 130 seats. This makes the 1894 election the largest midterm election victory in the entire history of the United States (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_United_States).

remainder at...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_House_of_Representatives_elections,_ 1894

[Kathianne]

I've heard that this year's elections may less like the 1994 midterm election than the 1894 midterm election.
remainder at...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_House_of_Representatives_elections,_ 1894

Many similarities, though I'd be surprised with that much turnover. However, not as surprised as perhaps 8 months ago.

[Little-Acorn]

IIRC, unemployment following the Panic of 1893 exceeded 50%, although statistics were much harder to come by. Most of the population were farmers, and they are never really "unemployed".

Though people whine more today (or at least the whines get published more), they aren't as badly off as they were back then.

Still, it's the perception of bad times that matters.